Monthly Archives: October 2009

1. i’m moving to berlin.
after talking about if for years, i decided to bite the bullet, quit my job and fly overseas. i’ll be going to germany early next year, almost 7 (!) years after I first visited and decided that I needed to be there.
of course i’m a bit worried that my impressions would have changed over time. it seems in the meantime, all the ‘creative types‘ have been trying on berlins ‘poor but sexy‘ clothes. there seem to be so many people from all over the world gravitating there, that i’m afraid i’m going to find myself in some sort of hipster retirement village, thats why i’m…

2. looking forward to poland!
i went for a bit of a walk around krakow and it looks awesome. i’m hoping the language barrier will act as sort of dickhead filter; it’s a lot harder to learn polish than german, and the incentives (for some people) are lower.

3. language
it’s been a while since i’ve had to sit down and memorise conjugations and new vocabulary, but it’s sort of satisfying. what’s nice about it is that it’s a long slow curve, the benefits won’t manifest themselves for quite a while.

4.
bikes bikes bikes!

but i won’t be able to ride this weekend, i’ll be too busy …

5. climbing.

using a set of cams that once belonged to diedier pieroni no less!
i’ve been training hard, so i hope it all pays off!

5. i listed to a bbc 4 podcast, thinking aloud.
one of the analogies given regarding the relationship between places and memories was actually a method that speechwriters use to memorize their speeches.
apparently the links between place and memory are so strong, if you imagine a memorable building with memorable features, a staircase, courtyard, distinct rooms etc., and associate each of these with one area you would like to touch upon in your talk, what you then do is then imagine yourself walking around this building, and ‘arriving’ at each part of the building will jog your memory for that part of the speech.
i don’t know what that has to do with anything, but fuck it is interesting.

frankfurt, july 2004
Crossing the Alte Brücke bridge on the way home from Club Keller, I stop Nina from jumping off the bridge. And I mean physically restrain her from throwing herself off. After a few calming beers in the turkish bar down the road, we spend the rest of the night drinking, smoking and methodically making our way through her record collection until the sun comes up, then it’s time to go home.

This week, the Big Giant and the Little Giantess found each other on the streets of Berlin. The performance was staged as part of 20th anniversary celebrations of the fall of the Berlin Wall. More pics here.

First of all, are you fucking mental? ‘Push back’?? What the fuck is that? All we’re accomplishing is a world were everyone pushes, and you know what that means, a world full of Stubborn Fat Americanos who start wars. All push and no give is like two magnets with the same poles. We repel each other.

Second, what if two people came out of this thing dead? Toxic places create toxic people. This is a toxic wasteland, pollution rises to the top.

It brings out the worst in you, me, Wendy and the trendy pervert in the corner. Everyone is driven by fear, advancement means compromising values, ethics and even decency and common manners.

There has to be a better way.. Being can replace having, you realise that there is another world out there, one in which you don’t have to pollute yourself to get through the exhaust fumed haze. Fuck, you don’t even need that much money to have a good time, let alone survive…

Anyway what the fuck would you know about being driven by fear? A lot I should think, you’re the fucking driver. But you know what my ragarre friends would think of your managerial Mercedes? They would aim a fuckin’ bazooka at that slug transporter and yell out ‘Die Fat Americano!!’ before blowing it to thousands of pieces of burning shrapnel. That’s what. Then they’d share a few beers and blast some Chuck Berry out the car door.

Ragarre is a name for what we might equate rockabilly culture to in Sweden. Fast cars, 50’s style, respect and rock’n’roll with a gentlemanly sensibility is what it’s all about. I agree with this type of culture immediately. Last weekend I was in Castlemaine, which could be considered Victoria’s raggarre capital (maybe even Australia’s after Newcastle). But if you slick back your hair and drive a cool old car are you living a lie? Half right, half wrong; lies become the truth; create a fantasy and talk it up until enough people believe it to become reality.

And you know all about ‘keeping it real’ don’t you slug? Yes i know. You read books. You have insight and oh that’s right, you read books. Hell in you’re private life, you’re even a ‘nice person’ and you make this known to me. But nothing is more boring after a while than someone who screams, “I’m not boring! Look–I’m singing, I’m dancing! I’m showing my arse! Isn’t this fun?”

Yes, a nice person in your private life.

private (adjective)

from Latin. privare
1. To deprive, to take, to rob.

So please, deprive me of your ‘niceness’. Now also might be an opportune time to look at the etymology of the word ‘idiot’.

idiot (noun)

from Greek. idiotes
1. Literally “private person”.

To act privately in a public context is to act idiotically. For example, when asked by a stranger for directions, you, the idiot, might answer “Take a left at my place” or even act nicely in your public sphere. But you won’t. Forget your private niceness and be a cunt, then bring people together, and give them something to do. I like it.